


an inheritance, withheld

by elenathehun



Series: The Kingmaker [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Canon, Gen, Political Alliances, Political Expediency, Post-Episode: s02e14 Duchess of Mandalore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 22:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30062550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenathehun/pseuds/elenathehun
Summary: The first time Cody met Satine Kryze, he didn't think much of her at all.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Satine Kryze, CC-2224 | Cody & Waxer
Series: The Kingmaker [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211654
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	an inheritance, withheld

**Author's Note:**

> This is a missing scene from a still-being drafted alternate canon of the Mandalorian episodes in TCW. For the purposes of this story, you only need to know that Satine Kryze still went to Coruscant to prevent the invasion and occupation of her sector, and was successful. Her appearance has been changed because it's fanfiction and I can do what I want.

The first time Cody met Satine Kryze, he didn't think much of her at all. The 212th was ferrying her back to Mandalore - a courtesy, General Kenobi called it. Reading between the lines, it was to ensure that she went straight back to Mandalore, and ideally never left again. Apparently some of the younger brothers were all a-twitter about her speech in front of the Senate, the one where she'd accused the Republic of enslaving Mandalorians, and then accused them of wanting to enslave the rest of them.

Fox had sent him a bootleg copy. Cody had to admit, she knew how to turn a phrase about as well as General Kenobi did. That didn't mean anything, though. A lot of the trainers on Kamino had been happy to talk up their so-called Mandalorian roots, up until cadets wanted to actually _participate_ in said culture.

Then, of course, they were just clones, imperfect copies of a man with no flaws. Satine Kryze was just another Mandalorian trying to find a way to stick a knife in the Republic's back, and she probably thought the GAR was an awfully useful knife.

It didn't help that the Republic apparently thought the same thing, though. Lady Kryze was confined to her quarters, and unless she elected to dine with General Kenobi in his quarters, she dined alone. And from what Rex had told him when they'd had time to meet on Coruscant, she absolutely did not want to dine with the General unless absolutely necessary. So Cody was stiffly introduced along with the rest of the senior staff when she came aboard, she'd nodded regally to each of them before being escorted to her quarters, and that was the end of it in his mind.

Four days into their cruise, Cody began receiving reports that she was talking to her guards, and what was worse - the guards were talking back.

* * *

"OK, Anelace, tell it to me again," Waxer said encouragingly. Cody honestly believed Waxer's growth tube had been wired differently, because the average brother wasn't nearly as empathetic as Waxer was. It made him a bit of an oddity, but a useful one. Shinies and junior troopers respected Cody, but they were willing to confide in Waxer.

"I had guard duty on the diplomatic quarters for third shift," the kid said. He had three crossed blades painted in 212th gold over his cuirass, so he'd seen at least one battle. Cody had delegated the watch schedule to Crys, and he favored blooded junior troopers for scutwork like this. "It was quiet for about three hours, and then Lady Kryze opened the door to speak with us."

"About what?" Waxer asked. Cody stayed silent.

"Nothing much," Anelace said with a shrug. "She had questions - how old I was, what I do in my free time, that sort of thing. I think she was mostly just bored."

Cody met Waxer's eyes and raised his own eyebrows. _Bored? Or fishing for information?_

"That does seem pretty innocuous," Waxer said slowly. "And I'm sure General Kenobi will be pleased by your courtesy-"

"-but remember that classified information is still classified," Cody finished. "The location of Kamino, the details of our training, and other sensitive information should remain confidential. Are we clear, trooper?"

Anelace nodded his head. "Loud and clear, Commander."

"All right, you're free to go. Thanks for your candor, brother," Waxer said kindly, and both he and Cody watched as the other trooper rose to his feet before taking his leave of the office. Once the door closed behind him- "What do you think, Commander? Should we re-jigger the watch schedule?"

"No, that'll just make her more interesting to the rank and file," Cody sighed. "General Kenobi will intervene if we ask him to, but that will also make her more interesting. I think we're gonna have to arrange a meeting with the honorable Lady Kryze, and see what she has to say for herself. You'll set it up while I alert the General?"

"Sure. End of second watch all right?"

"Yeah, I can fit that in."

* * *

The General had been less-than-helpful, which was uncharacteristic of him. He'd only said that Lady Kryze was understandably curious about the clones' background, given their progenitor had been the former ruler of her system, and would probably focus on that. Left unsaid was the substance of Kryze's claims to the Senate: that the clones were Mandalorian citizens, and their creation and draft was an affront to Mandalorian sovereignty and citizenship. It had sounded like complete banthashit to Cody, but apparently General Kenobi was taking it seriously - the General had been poring over a translated copy of the Mandalorian Civil Code when Cody had arrived at his office, and there was every sign he was going to throw himself back into it once Cody left.

"Satine and I have had many disagreements over the years, and she's certainly not happy with me right now," he said with a short huff of laughter. "But she has no love for various factions in the Confederacy, either. Her only interest, as far as I can see, is keeping the Mandalorians out of the war. But please, question her to put your own mind at ease. If you truly believe there is something other than curiosity driving her own questions, I will certainly step in."

So that was that.

At 2145 Waxer showed up at Cody's office. Cody had already finished the day's reports and was halfway through the requisitions forms for their resupply on Bandomeer, so it was a simple matter to put the datapads in the locking drawer and close up the office behind him. 

"Any sage advice from the General?" Waxer asked as they walked towards the diplomatic quarters, his stride in perfect synchronicity with Cody’s own. 

"No, so we're just going to play it by ear," Cody replied.

Cody and Waxer arrived right before shift change. Anelace and his partner - Feathers, if Cody recognized that armor pattern correctly - were already there, getting the shift-change report from the second watch. Anelace saw them first and saluted, the others quickly following suit.

"At ease, troopers," Cody said. "You can continue the change-over - Lieutenant Waxer and I are going to speak with our guest for a few minutes."

"Yessir!" they all replied, and Cody stepped past them to open the door to the diplomatic suite and enter, Waxer following behind him. Lady Kryze was looking at them with arched brows, already rising from her seat at the dining table in her suite. 

"Commander, Lieutenant, what an unexpected surprise," she said evenly, the barest hint of a Mandalorian accent lingering around the sharp edges of her consonants, before sweeping her hand towards the other magnetized chairs next to the dining table. "Please, won't you sit down and share a glass of water with me? My table, after all, is yours."

Something about that phrase seemed...familiar. Cody glanced side-long at Waxer, only to see his officer raise his eyebrows at him. Well, nothing for it.

"Of course, Lady Krzye." It was simple enough to sit in the chairs around the table, and Kryze brought one of the standard-issue water bottles over from one of the cupboards along the wall, along with three of the light duraluminum cups that were standard issue in the GAR. She unsealed the bottle and poured water into each one, before handing one each to Cody and Waxer, and sitting down with her own. She uttered a short, sharp phrase before raising her cup to her lips and drinking. Cody waited a moment before doing the same, Waxer following after all. 

Yeah, this whole thing was seeming more and more familiar. The trainers had kept to themselves outside of training, for the most part - at least the good ones had. But sometimes they'd have meals or celebrations where the cadets could hear them, and they'd always signal the official start of the event like this, except with some kind of acrid-smelling moonshine instead of water. 

"Now, what brings you to my door, Commander? I was under the impression that we are still scheduled to reach Mandalore in three days - has that changed?"

"We're still on schedule, Lady Kryze," Cody replied stiffly. "I'm actually here because my troopers have reported you've been conversing with them while they're on duty."

Lady Kryze raised one elegant black brow. Close up, she didn't look like anyone very special. Just a woman, a little older than General Kenobi, who seemed to prefer her clothes in various shades of rich blue or purple or red. She wasn't wearing armor like the Cuy'Val Dar, but Cody didn't underestimate her; he'd seen the heavy boots underneath her skirt, and Fox had told him that she'd kicked a Senate guard hard enough to fracture his knee in her escape from custody. Cody merely waited for her to respond. He'd had a lot of practice with that since he'd left Kamino.

After a few minutes of tense silence, she exhaled and put the cup back on the table. "Do you disapprove of my engaging them while they're on duty, or speaking with them at all?"

"That depends on your reason for it," Cody replied, expression as neutral as he could make it. He'd had a lot of practice at that, too. 

"I merely want to ascertain how you were educated and raised by these...Kaminoans," Lady Kryze answered readily, a derisive twist to her lips. "I've only learned of your existence recently, and I'd prefer to know more information before I press my case against the Republic."

Waxer shifted slightly in his chair. "So you do consider us Mandalorians?" 

"Certainly," Kryze said, leaning forward with her dark eyes intent on Waxer's face. "You're all full-body clones of a Mandalorian citizen. It's not the usual way to grow a clan’s population, but it's been used before in particularly cataclysmic times in our history. Did any of your trainers tell you the story of Mand'alor the Harvester, who sowed the teeth of a Mythosaur and harvested fresh warriors for his dying clan?"

"No, they didn't," Cody snapped, patience finally at an end. "Our trainers didn't tell us Mandalorian stories, because _we're not Mandalorians_."

"I see," Kryze said, turning her peculiar attention to him. It wasn't any worse than General Kenobi's gaze, but Cody didn't like it at all. "Is that what your progenitor told you?"

Neither Waxer or Cody responded. Kryze was more direct than the Senators they usually carried, but she was a Mandalorian, and they typically didn't mince words.

"Tell me, do you consider me a Mandalorian?" Kryze finally asked. This time, Cody and Waxer could not suppress an incredulous glance at each other. Was she kriffing with them?

"You're the ruler of the _entire sector_ ," Waxer said. 

"An erroneous assumption based on faulty information," Kryze said tartly. "But aside from my position in government, am I Mandalorian?"

Cody scowled. He hated being made to feel stupid. "You speak the language, you're part of the government, and you live among other Mandalorians. What else could you be, save for a Mandalorian?"

"I'm glad you think so," she said. "but you know, your template, our beloved Mand'alor, he of the self-imposed exile from his home and people – he would not have agreed. So you see, we have that much in common, at least."

Cody inhaled, and then exhaled. The sheer kriffing _gall_ of this woman, attempting to play on some imaginary similarity–!

"No, it's not the same," Cody said firmly. "None of us have ever visited set foot on Mandalore, or lived among the people, or even spoken a full sentence of the language. We're not _remotely_ the same as you. We were always meant for the Republic."

He stood up at the end of that sentence. "We'll be on Mandalore in three days, as planned. Please refrain from speaking to the troopers on duty. If you require company or conversation, I am sure General Kenobi would be happy to entertain you."

"Will he?" she questioned lightly, eyes crinkled into a suppressed smile. "Very well. Thank you for the conversation, Commander. It was most enlightening."

And in an instant, she rose and escorted Cody and Waxer the five steps to her door, opening it and seeing them out.

" _Ret'urcye mhi_ , Commander, Lieutenant," she said mildly, before shutting the door. _Maybe we'll meet again._

Personally, Cody hoped he saw the back of her on Mandalore. He walked back towards his office, trying and failing to relax his shoulders; Waxer said something to Anelace and Feathers before catching up with Cody's stride.

"What do you think?" he asked with some hesitation, once they were safely in Cody's small, cramped, _private_ office.

Cody pressed his lips together in a firm line. "The sooner we get to Mandalore, the better. Make sure the watch knows they shouldn't be speaking with her when they're on-duty."

"And when they're off?"

"You or Crys should debrief them directly, in the officer's wardroom."

"Understood."

* * *

Three days later, General Kenobi took a shuttle down to Sudari and dropped Kryze off, and hopefully out of Republic politics. Waxer ended up going over the diplomatic quarters after she left, just to ensure that she hadn't left any little listeners behind. 

She hadn't.

But she had apparently taken the time to connect to the Mandalorian holonet and download a beginning language primer onto a wiped datapad. 

"Why are you giving me this, Waxer?" Cody asked in exasperation. 

Waxer shrugged easily. "She addressed it to you, sir. I felt it would be rude to toss it."

"Of course you did," Cody grumbled. "Hand it over, and then get out and make sure Boil isn't bullying Crys."

"You say that like I can stop him," Waxer sighed.

"Rise above, Lieutenant," Cody drawled, and didn't bother to hide his smile at the disbelieving look Waxer sent his way. 

And then Cody was alone in his office, with just his paperwork and reports and the dubious honor of a gift from Satine Kryze. He lifted it up, and saw a message had been left on the default note-taking program all datapads had. 

_Commander Cody,_

_This is not a gift._

_-Satine Kryze_


End file.
